Bill Snyder tried to hire Jim Leavitt as linebackers coach

The saga of Bill Snyder and Jim Leavitt took an odd turn on Monday when Snyder said he tried to hire Leavitt … as his linebackers coach.

Last week, former ESPN college football reporter Brett McMurphy said that Kansas State had a verbal agreement with Leavitt last year to become the head coach in waiting for Snyder. He says Snyder pushed back because he wants his son, Sean, to replace him at K-State.

Leavitt, who last year was the defensive coordinator at Colorado, ended up being hired by Oregon’s Willie Taggart as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in December. He is making $1.15 million a year.

So here’s where the interesting twist comes in.

Snyder said at his weekly news conference on Monday that he tried to hire Leavitt as his linebackers coach … in March. That would have been a demotion for Leavitt, and it would have come after he had already signed with Oregon.

Snyder has been at Kansas State since 1989, though he did step away after 2005 before returning in 2009. At 78, he won’t be the coach there forever, which has led the school to consider a replacement plan. Leavitt was an assistant under Snyder and is considered a potential candidate whenever Snyder steps away.

Photo: Alex/Wikimedia